"Green"
Living in Question
(Lazy Bones Recordings)
The band came out of the fertile Big Island rock scene several years ago, and this album proves they have staying power. They open strong with "Spidergoat," a powerful collage of screaming vocals, grinding power chords, electronic feedback and even a bit of tongue-in-cheek rapping. "Runaway" is more melodic but no less edgy in describing the pain of a disrupted romance. LIQ and co-producer Scott Schorr have a perfect piece of radio-ready rock with this track.
Several of the first few songs are variations on a basic hard-rock template, but from there on, the musical horizons expand to include somnambulant laments, slo-mo reggae-rock, neo-psychedelia and raging modern punk. No question about it, Living in Question is ready for the national charts.
www.livinginquestion.com
"'E"
Natalie Ai Kamau'u
(Keko)
Hawaiian traditionalists will embrace this recent release. Kamau'u sings beautifully from the first lines of her opening medley, her musicians play crisp and clean throughout, and where electronic keyboards are added, they actually enhance the arrangements. Guest vocalists join Kamau'u for several duets -- and chanters add their voices in honoring King Kalakaua -- but the additional vocals never overshadow hers. An a cappella chant closes the album in fine style.
Most of the songs are sung in Hawaiian, and each seems more glorious that the other. Some are family songs, while others represent the works of Maddy Lam, Alfred Alohikea, Lei Collins, and Kawaikapuokalani Hewett.
Don McLean's pop hit "And I Love You So" is an unexpected inclusion, but Kamau'u makes it feel smooth and natural in relation to the rest of the album. "Fa'a Hei Ta'u" adds a Tahitian song to the collection.
www.natalieaikamauu.com
"Build"
Earth Movers
(Lightsleepers)
Rap, hip-hop and slam poetry are smartly mixed on this sparsely packaged album. The trio of Temper T, Kid Koak and well.being provide the words and the voices. An assortment of mixers add the beats, melodic hooks and the occasional sound bite. Race Skelton, DJ Knowone, Intaleck the Reject and DJ Eelz are four of the mixologists who give the Earth Movers a diverse sonic pallet to work with. While the trio's voices are the common denominator, the musical spectrum includes spacey New Age stuff, acoustic Spanish guitars, light jazz and raw noise.
Give the trio credit for being able to express their pride in what they do without resulting to profanity or gangsta posing. There's a bit of the attitude of one-upmanship, but the Earth Movers obviously understand that the really big dogs don't need to brag incessantly about how big they are.
www.nomasterbacks.com/earthmovers.html
John Berger, who has covered the local entertainment scene since 1972, writes reviews of recordings produced by Hawaii artists. See the Star-Bulletin's Today section on Fridays for the latest reviews. Contact John Berger at
jberger@starbulletin.com.
